BRO to provide insurance to casual labourers

New Delhi, Feb 28 (UNI) In a major welfare measure, about 70,000 casual labourers working with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) would be provided insurance cover, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju has announced.

A decision to this effect was taken at the meeting of Border Roads Development Board which was presided over by Mr Raju here yesterday.

He said the Government had considered a special package to provide life insurance cover to the casual labourers as they had to work in difficult and terrorist-infested border areas.

The BRO casual labourers are presently being provided with free shelter, rations and free clothing besides wages.

The Board, which met for the second time in a year to review and plan various projects, also approved the BRO's proposal to outsource certain works to civil construction agencies, wherever feasible, enabling the BRO to add capacity undertake more road, bridge and tunneling work.

BRO constructs about 1,100 km of roads and lays bridges over a length of three km every year. It plans to more than double the target for the next financial year with road construction of about 2,500 km and bridge construction over a length of five km length worth over Rs 4,000 crore.

Lt General A K Nanda, BRO director-general said strategic projects including roads along the China border, Prime Minister's reconstruction package for Jammu and Kashmir and special road Develoopment Programme for the North-East would be completed within the time frame.

Mr Raju assured that the Government would provide due priority to the BRO's airlifting needs of equipments and other resources in remote and high altitude areas.

UNI KAS MS KN1715